Farming Programme

Morrisons is British farming’s largest supermarket customer, selling 100% British fresh meat, milk and eggs and manufacturing most of our own food in 18 manufacturing sites and 493 stores, including bakery, seafood,
meat, fruit & veg, flowers and chilled processed product.

We are committed to selling with transparency, integrity and clarity, and do not sell under any brands using fake farm names. We believe in buying directly from farmers and fishermen who we know and trust,
processing through our own manufacturing sites and abattoirs and distributing through our own network, the only British supermarket to do so.

We are the only UK retailer to buy animals and whole crops directly from over 3,500 British farmers, some of whom have been supplying us for over 30 years, a testament to the strength and fairness of our
supply chain relationships.

We own our own abattoirs, located in Turiff (Aberdeen), Spalding (Lincolnshire) and Colne (Lancashire); Colne is the only three species abattoir in the UK, processing beef, pork and lamb. We also own our
own manufacturing and packing facilities, which means that we can use the whole carcass and all of the crop, giving farmers a fair price for the products they grow.

We have a wider programme to sell more food that is both British and local in answer to the call from 70% of our customers who have said they prefer to buy British food. We have also recruited over 200
local suppliers to sell products in our stores which cuts the food miles on the products we sell.

We have long supported applied research as a method to improve the productivity of our agricultural sector. We see our challenge is to keep the industry competitive, affordable, profitable and sustainable.
That’s why in 2009, we launched an expert-led farming programme. Our programme covers a broad range of issues from keeping British produce competitive with imports, strengthening our commitment to animal welfare
and broader sustainability. Through the work of our supply chain groups it helps us to ensure that the work we do is fully focused on current practical issues affecting suppliers and their concerns for the future.

We have dedicated steering groups and workshop structures with farmers, processors, vets and consultants in all species - beef, pork, chicken, eggs, cheese and milk.

Farm research

Morrisons works with universities and other research institutions in the UK to understand best practice in animal production and make practical advice available to our farmer suppliers. All our research is led by experts, but ideas come from many sources:
from the farmers themselves, from people in our own business and from our own farm.